Patient data at U of M hospital breached

A thief broke into a doctor's car and stole a briefcase containing a flash drive that held personal data on patients of the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine.

How many customers? 1,219.

What type of personal information? Age, gender, diagnosis and treatment data, from 2005 to 2011.

What happened? On Nov. 24, vandals broke into a car belonging to a pathologist from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. A briefcase, which held a USB drive containing the patient data, was taken.

Details: Officials, in a statement, said no financial information or Social Security numbers were stored on the stolen drive. The statement also said that “there is no indication that the information was accessed or misused in any way.” However, the facility is following federal requirements to notify patients involved, and the theft was reported to local law enforcement for investigation, as well as to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Quote: “The university will continue to review and refine its physical and electronic safeguards to ensure that personal information remains secure.” – UM letter